The first ingredient in this dog food is beef. Although it’s a quality item, raw beef contains about 80% water. After cooking, most of that moisture is lost, reducing the meat content to just a fraction of its original weight.

After processing, this item would probably account for a smaller part of the total content of the finished product.

The second ingredient is brewers rice. Brewers rice is a cereal grain by-product consisting of the small fragments left over after milling whole rice. Aside from the caloric energy it contains, this item is of only modest nutritional value to a dog.

The third ingredient is corn gluten meal. Gluten is the rubbery residue remaining once corn has had most of its starchy carbohydrate washed out of it.

On the brighter side, by-product meals are meat concentrates and contain nearly 300% more protein than fresh poultry.

The sixth ingredient is animal fat. Animal fat is a generic by-product of rendering, the same high-temperature process used to make meat meals.

Since there’s no mention of a specific animal, this item could come from almost anywhere: restaurant grease, slaughterhouse waste, diseased cattle — even (although unlikely) euthanized pets.

We do not consider generic animal fat a quality ingredient.

The seventh ingredient is soybean meal, a by-product of soybean oil production more commonly found in farm animal feeds.

Although soybean meal contains 48% protein, this ingredient would be expected to have a lower biological value than meat.

And less costly plant-based products like this can notably boost the total protein reported on the label — a factor that must be considered when judging the actual meat content of this dog food.

The eighth ingredient is oatmeal, a whole-grain product made from coarsely ground oats. Oatmeal is naturally rich in B-vitamins, dietary fiber and can be (depending upon its level of purity) gluten-free.

The ninth ingredient is wheat. Wheat is another cereal grain and subject to the same issues as corn (previously discussed).

From here, the list goes on to include a number of other items.

But to be realistic, ingredients located this far down the list (other than nutritional supplements) are not likely to affect the overall rating of this product.

With seven notable exceptions…

First, animal digest is a chemically hydrolyzed mixture of animal by-products that is usually sprayed onto the surface of a dry kibble to improve its taste.

Next, we find glycerin. Glycerin is used in the food industry as a natural sweetener and as a humectant to help preserve the moisture content of a product.

In addition, caramel is a natural coloring agent made by caramelizing carbohydrates. It’s used by pet food manufacturers to impart a golden brown tint to the finished product.

However, the concentrated version of this ingredient commonly known as caramel coloring has been more recently considered controversial and found to cause cancer in laboratory animals.1

In any case, even though caramel is considered safe by the FDA, we’re always disappointed to find any added coloring in a pet food.

That’s because coloring is used to make the product more appealing to humans — not your dog. After all, do you really think your dog cares what color his food is?

Next, garliccan be a controversial item. Although many favor the ingredient for its claimed health benefits, garlic has been linked to Heinz body anemia in dogs.2

So, one must weigh the potential benefits of feeding garlic against its proven tendency to cause subclinical damage to the red blood cells of the animal.

We find no mention of probiotics, friendly bacteria applied to the surface of the kibble after processing to help with digestion.

In addition, the minerals listed here do not appear to be chelated. And that can make them more difficult to absorb. Non-chelated minerals are usually associated with lower quality dog foods.

And lastly, this dog food contains menadione, a controversial form of vitamin K linked to liver toxicity, allergies and the abnormal break-down of red blood cells.

Since vitamin K isn’t required by AAFCO in either of its dog food nutrient profiles, we question the use of this substance in any canine formulation.

Purina One SmartBlend Dog Food
The Bottom Line

Judging by its ingredients alone, Purina One SmartBlend Dog Food looks like a below-average dry product.

But ingredient quality by itself cannot tell the whole story. We still need to estimate the product’s meat content before determining a final rating.

When you consider the protein-boosting effect of the corn gluten and soybean meals in this recipe, and also the corn germ meal included in some other recipes, this looks like the profile of a kibble containing a moderate amount of meat.

Bottom line?

Purina One SmartBlend is a plant-based dry dog food using a moderate amount of poultry by-product meal as its main source of animal protein, thus earning the brand 2 stars.

Not recommended.

Please note certain recipes are sometimes given a higher or lower rating based upon our estimate of their total meat content and (when appropriate) their fat-to-protein ratios.

Purina Dog Food
Recall History

The following list (if present) includes all dog food recalls since 2009 directly related to this product line. If there are no recalls listed in this section, we have not yet reported any events.

A Final Word

The descriptions and analyses expressed in this and every article on this website represent the views and opinions of the author.

The Dog Food Advisor does not test dog food products.

We rely entirely on the integrity of the information provided by each company. As such, the accuracy of every review is directly dependent upon the specific data a company chooses to share.

Although it's our goal to ensure all the information on this website is correct, we cannot guarantee its completeness or its accuracy; nor can we commit to ensuring all the material is kept up-to-date on a daily basis.

Each review is offered in good faith and has been designed to help you make a more informed decision when buying dog food.

However, due to the biological uniqueness of every animal, none of our ratings are intended to suggest feeding a particular product will result in a specific dietary response or health benefit for your pet.

Remember, no dog food can possibly be appropriate for every life stage, lifestyle or health condition. So, choose wisely. And when in doubt, consult a qualified veterinary professional for help.

In closing, we do not accept money, gifts or samples from pet food companies in exchange for special consideration in the preparation of our reviews or ratings.

However, we do receive a fee from Chewy.com for each purchase made as a direct result of a referral from our website. This fee is a fixed dollar amount and has nothing to do with the size of an order or the brand selected for purchase.

Have an opinion about this dog food? Or maybe the review itself? Please know we welcome your comments.

We’re having problems with two dogs…not related and NOT the same breed…having seizures after being exposed to Purina One. I’ll change their food tomorrow…but the sight of my dog foaming at the mouth after a diet change to this garbage is enough. I won’t expose them again.

qwerty_4321

To be honest, this isn’t news. Almost every major site you go to tracks your movements. Cookies are harmless and in the end all they have is an IP address which does nothing to identify who you are. The only people who can link a physical computer to an IP address is the company providing the internet service.

Abi

I had the same situation happen to me! Orijen is said to be the best but it’s very expensive so the sister company called acana is more affordable for us who don’t want to spend too much. Try it my dogs love it!

Nicole Sams

Purina One is an excellent food. My dog thrives on it. I have tried more expensive brands like Acana, Orijen, Fromm, and many others. My dog has had loose stools, itchy skin, and fur loss while on these brands. Purina One has done wonders for my dog. His fur is soft and healthy, his stools are firm. People like to demonize by products and grains, especially corn. By products are very nutritious for dogs. In the wild they eat almost every part of an animal. The parts we would never eat. Also, corn is no different than the potatoes and peas that are used in the ‘better’ foods. The argument is that dogs in the wild don’t eat corn, well they sure as heck don’t dig up potatoes. Dogs have actually adapted to eat other things than meat. They can digest many different foods.

Karen Biedronski

My senior Pomeranian is usually fed four star dog food, boiled chicken or beef, and the occasional scrambled egg. When we dog sit our friends’ dog, he wants the other dog’s Purina One Smart Blend Chicken & Rice Formula (and, of course, the other dog wants my dog’s food). I figure it is like junk food…maybe not the best for health, but tasty to him and okay in moderation. Our friends’ dog is in good health, and I haven’t seen any ill effects in my dog, so I bought some to feed him occasionally.

mahoraner

good idea, lol.
Thanks for suggesting that, i’m gonna go to their site right now. Then i
m going to search “dog chow kills dogs”,
Then i’ll go to orijens site, then google search “orijen is such high quality”,
or something like that.
Like you said, They’re the ones watching

but i still have a sticker over my camera, not just because of purina. I’ve heard a lot of sites have been doing this.

ugh, technology
the internet can be good or bad, it all depends on how you use it.

Amateria

Meh cookies are not enabled, so I’m safe it seems :p

Anyways just visit their site and than give them a load of real dog food sites haha, make them jealous! Because why not? Their the ones spying after all.

mahoraner

Oh sh!thttps://www.purina.com/about-our-ads
If you have ever been to a purina website (whether your registered or not) purinas been tracking your every move (well, online that is)
good thing i always have a sticker over the camera on my computer, because you never know who’s watching

Also if you read what the article (in the link above) says, it says they can track you on OTHER sites as well.
that’s just too creepy

I hadn’t been to their site in almost a year, until my friend told me about it, and (for some reason) sent me the link
and out of curiosity, i opened it
now i’m really freaked out

mahoraner

thank you for clearing that up for me
that makes much more sense

theBCnut

One consideration is whether or not the senior food has lower protein. If the protein is lowered but the food costs the same, they are making more money.

Amateria

He does get a fair bit of walking as he follows my mum around the house almost all day everyday, he’s constantly opening the door to the computer room and ridding it of all the heat I created moments earlier as we are in winter here, he’s also got a 20 acre farm to run around, but because both him and Anja are house dogs they don’t stray very far, but the acreage is there for them if they want it.

Anja is also a total scaredy cat, she scream barks at every movement and every person in the house, which Rusty has unfortunately learnt from and now goes crazy with her, he however is not afraid like she is thank goodness!

But yeah because of that she gets him off his butt and moving around a lot, coupled with following my mum and several acres of farm I doubt he will ever not have enough excercise and will likely never truly get fat.

Pitlove

I agree. I don’t know that when Bentley becomes a senior I will switch to a senior food. Our Lab is 8 and he is eating the same food as Bentley and it is simply an adult maintenance diet. Both are ideal weights.

I guess the benefit of a senior diet could be for someone who is not good with keeping weight off their dog or doesn’t excersize their senior dog (for whatever reason).

Glad Rusty is doing good with the extras in his diet! Him not getting a lot of excersize every day won’t hurt him. Mine can’t excersize much with the weather in southern US during the summer. The humidity is so high, it’s almost more cruel to excersize them during the summer than not to.

Amateria

Generally from personal experience with Rusty(likely not every dog, that would be kind of unrealistic since every dog is unique in some way) is he doesn’t need a senior food to keep him lean I’ve noticed, I wasn’t too sure if the new additions would be good at first but he actually lost weight on them and some of these foods had quiet a lot of fat, but since they were either freeze dried, dried or fish kibble that maybe that type of fat doesn’t store in the body like regular kibble fat or something.

But what I wanted to say up top is that with the additions Rusty became a new man dog haha, he bounces around, he’s full of energy and in doing so he burns everything and doesn’t need a lower caloric food.
He does however despite what I said sleep off the food sometimes instead of walking it off, but despite this his weight either doesn’t move at all or lowers, so generally I’m happy either way.

However not all dogs will have the same results and there are dogs and will be dogs out there that need senior formulations.

I’m also not the one who said they were dangerous but rather quoting (is that the word I’m looking for hmphh) what a few people have written in the past, a lot of what people write on their websites is misinformation though and finding the right info can be tricky, which is why we have so many misinformed people turning up here or pet food reviews, but helping them is what we do best and turning them onto the real truth and hoping it sticks.

Amateria

Maybe it’s more in the sense that if they have senior formulas people will keep buying from them, rather than changing brands or something.
When you put it that way though it suddenly sounded weird haha.

mahoraner

I really am not super informed with the senior formulas thing, but I don’t see how they make more money because almost all of the senior formulas I see at the store are the same price as the regular adult food
So I really don’t know what to believe
Thank god my dog isn’t a “senior” (yet)
Or else I’d be really confused

Pitlove

It isn’t so much that senior dog foods are dangerous as you put it, it’s that AAFCO has no nutrient profile for a senior dog. Adult and Senior dogs can both eat a “maintenance” or “all life stages” diet.

What I do like about most senior diets is the lower fat and calories, which will help keep them lean.

Pitlove

If you’re sad to hear about all the animals Purina has “killed”, I think you’d be horrified to learn about Diamonds track record….

Amateria

The only time I’ve ever mentioned Purina was to some random guy on a walk with his dog and even than I mentioned the grain free variation because I think it was better?
I’m clearly not going to go around in real life and tell people to feed Ziwipeak or Ivory Coat because that would be crazy haha especially Ziwipeak with its prices.
I do mention Totw and black hawk though, but I’ve only ever done that twice, since only two people have ever talked to me about dog food.

I also thought that senior formulas were dangerous in some cases and that the whole senior thing was just to make more money, at least that’s what I’ve read on here and everywhere else I’ve been.

Kassondra Metas

Thanks for replying, I am actually going to look into Sportmix, Pro Pac, and Earthborn (all same company, good reviews and never had any recalls.) I wrote to them asking if I could get any samples of their food because I heard they gave some out to other customers who asked. I did some digging on diamond naturals and read some negative stuff about them as well sadly 🙁

Also here are a few other foods that are similarly priced to purina one that are good;
im also going to write where i have seen them, since i dont know your preference on where you buy dog food,
Sportmix wholesomes ………………small pet stores and chewy
diamond naturals …………………….small pet stores and chewy
Newmans own …………………………grocery stores, small pet stores, and only a tiny bag on chewy
premium edge …………………………chewy and small pet stores
pure balance ……………………………walmart only
iams naturals grain free…………….(some)grocery stores, walmart, pet stores, chewy)
fromm (any variety)…………………..small pet stores and chewy
wegmans nature……………………….wegmans only (a store in the north east if your wondering)
tast of the wild………………………….chewy and small pet stores, note that it’s a LITTLE more expensive than the others above

and usually i would recommend beyond, but the more stories i hear about dogs on purina (on all of their foods, not just one (no pun intended) the more skeptical i feel about recommending it, that is why i wouldn’t recommend it (anymore)

i hope i helped! good luck with your dog ! (:

UPDATE: if i understood correctly, your other post mentioned your dog is 8
which would mean he is considered a senior, so make sure you get the senior formula of any food you get, Im pretty sure that most of the foods that i listed above have a senior formula,

again, i hope i helped!

Kassondra Metas

Thanks for leaving this comment, I was looking for a “cheaper” quality food. I will have to look for diamond naturals. We have always fed our pets purina and it makes me sad to hear about all the animals they have made sick and killed. Our first family dog died rapidly of liver failure and I now wonder years later if it was from purina. He was a very healthy hyper dog and became sick overnight.

Kassondra Metas

I’ve always used purina because I thought they were a good brand, until recently I have read about all the horrible instances of them making dogs sick and killing animals. We used to use a more expensive line of purina, but my boyfriend switched to this one and now I am wanting to get a different brand of dog food, but I don’t know where to start. My Pomeranian seemed to really like this food, but he recently passed away, and my basset doesn’t seem to care either way about it. After seen how low of a rating it is, I definitely don’t want to keep paying for this food (it is kinda expensive for how low quality it appears to be now after visiting this website) I have an 8 year old basset hound and I want to get her a quality food thats not going to break the bank. She has a sensitive stomach and sometimes has loose stool or will vomit if she eats too quickly or eats human food, so she has to have something more high quality. We just adopted her a couple of months ago, and I want to be able to get a new food soon so that I can transition it in with the old food so it doesn’t upset her stomach too much. if anyone can offer me some advice on some quality foods that aren’t SUPER expensive that would be great. I understand that I will have to spend more than we currently are and thats okay, I just don’t want to have to buy the most expensive food out there.

Jesi Utter

You could also research the ingredients yourself and get the same results that this site posts. Could you post your finding on the site, please? It would be helpful to know which foods and sources you are using.

Jesi Utter

I’m not sure what kind of dog food you normally get for your dog, but if $30 for a 15lb bag to feed a Pomeranian is out of your budget then that is just sad. You really should look at the ingredients when you’re feeding your pet, especially if you know that they have allergies. Chicken meal is very common in lower grade dog foods to keep it cheaper, same goes for grains. If you’re normally buying a 15lb bag at $10, I really wouldn’t expect it to be any better for your dog, despite chicken being an ingredient or not. At the very least, you should try to supplement some of your dog’s diet with home cooked foods to keep him healthy. There are plenty of “human” foods that you can give your dog and still keep things cheap. Just be sure to do some research to make sure your dog can eat it! Your pup might like some pumpkin or sweet potato or salmon or something. You can get canned salmon, too! Just make sure it’s in water, no special seasonings, and preferably less salt. Ground beef can be pretty cheap too. Just cook it up, strain out as much fat as you can and store the rest in the fridge. A Pomeranian really doesn’t eat very much at all (if you’re feeding them properly). My dog is 55lbs and is only supposed to eat 2 cups of food a day.

Babslynne

There are some other affordable 4 & 5 star dog foods you could try such as Pure Balance (@Walmart), 4Health (@Tractor Supply), Victor, and Nutrisource. Make sure you always read the ingredients because a lot of dog foods add chicken. Slowly transition to each dog food to avoid diarrhea along with adding a tsp of plain canned pumpkin or probiotics.http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/frequently-asked-questions/diet-rotation-for-dogs/

Erica Johnson

My boyfriend decided to be cheap and purchase this food for my 14 year old Beagle. DO NOT BUY THIS FOOD!! It made Charles, my beagle, become bloated and lazy. He had no energy whatsoever. Though he does have some gastric issues, this food has definitely made him worse. As soon as I noticed this, I immediately stopped feeding him this junk food. I put him on a detox of a mixture of eggs, fish, oatmeal/brown rice, kale/greens, carrots, and watermelon. Since, he’s been feeling a lot better. What I can say about this food is its customer service. I called the number on the back of the bag and told them the food has made my dog sick, and they’re sending me a full refund. I guess they get complaints like that often. Take my advice: spend the extra cash to get some quality dog food. Your little one is worth it!!

HF

Like any dog owner, I’d want to buy the best food possible for my dog. I want to get something that caters to his dietary needs, but also something he will enjoy eating. Recently I bought Purina One Smart Blend to see how my dog would like it, and I have very mixed feelings about it. Overall I wasn’t very impressed though.

Price

To start off with, the price of this food is immensely expensive. Being priced at $30 it’s almost three times what I pay for the brand I normally get (for the same bag size). Usually I wouldn’t even consider buying something that expensive, but because I wanted to try something new out and because it was supposedly higher quality, I went for it. I’m glad it didn’t end up being too great though, because buying this all the time would be way out of my budget range.

What Makes it Different

The regular food my dog eats is just the normal dry food. I chose to try this Purina brand because it had chunks of dried meat in it as well as the little kibble pieces. The pieces were also a little larger than what my dog was used to, which was a concern at first, but after he started eating it, didn’t seem to be a problem.

Dog’s Attitude About the Food

My dog doesn’t have any issues eating the food he normally has, but personally, I would get bored eating the same food all the time, so I wanted to change it up for him. He actually got really excited about eating this Purina One Smart Blend food. In fact he never wanted to stop eating it. He would just beg for more of it after he finished his bowl. It was a little odd, but I was glad he was enjoying it. At least he was enjoying it until he started having some issues.

Side Effects

After only a few days of him eating this food, he started itching like crazy. His skin was so irritated that he could barely move a foot without stopping to scratch himself. It got to the point where he had huge chunks of fur completely gone and replaced with big blisters and chewed-up skin. We couldn’t even touch him without him growling from the pain. His symptoms lasted for weeks after he stopped eating it also, which made me worry. This got me wondering, what was really in this food?

Ingredients

My dog is a Pomeranian, and a lot of Pomeranian’s
have very sensitive skin and allergies to some kinds of foods. My dog in particular happens to be allergic to chicken, or anything with chicken in it. The front of the bag says it was a lamb and rice formula, which is what drew me to get this specific one. It was lamb, not chicken, so why was he having problems from it? Well it turns out that even though it’s mostly lamb, it still has “poultry by-product meal” mixed into it. I guess for my dog, even a little bit is enough to give him a really bad reaction. Also I find it very annoying that there are separate bags for chicken and lamb, but the lamb one still has chicken mixed in. I researched the ingredients for the beef food as well, and it turns out that all of their types of food have poultry of some kind incorporated. This means that no matter what kind I got from this brand, my dog still would have issues. I find this not only annoying, but also a little unfair.

Pitlove

I know! I loved that name too 😀

Bobby dog

Land o Lakes is their parent company. I know they make food for different species, but I am only familiar with the horse, dog, and cat lines. The name “Trout Chow” cracks me up.

I’ve seen PMI before at our feed store. I was under the impression that it was still under Purina PetCare and that Purina Mills was associated with it. Apparently not! I’ve only heard good things about Purina Mills Chows. Specifially their Trout Chow from a friend of mine who is a marine biologist.

Bobby dog

Hi pitlove:
I feed a few PMI products to my horses and Bobby. They all do well on them and I have been very happy working with the Vets they have on staff finding feeds for my horses.
I have a few of their Exclusive and Infinia recipes in Bobby’s current rotation.

Pitlove

I see that now, thank you.

theBCnut

Purina Mills isn’t the same company. They split several years ago.

Pitlove

Oh lol 😛

LabsRawesome

I have not seen the recipes so I can’t give my opinion on the exotic blends.
I thought the op was talking about Purina Dog Chow. lol

Pitlove

Believe it or not, Purina feeds for exotics and large animals are considered some of the best among those in that field.

LabsRawesome

They use Purina at the Zoo because it is cheap.
Not because it is the “best”, because it definitely
is not.

Kimberly Guy

You can waste your money on designer dog food if you want, you can also believe the ratings on this site if you choose. even though those ratings are contrary to facts easily found by searching the web. One of the foods rated a 4 star on this site has been linked to serious illness and in cases, death in dogs. I had an exotic bird so I was fortunate to be able to see a veterinarian who did not typically take normal pets but he saw my dogs because of the bird. He was the head veterinarian at the Lincoln Park Zoo. He said what I was feeding the Pyrenees and Yorkie was fine, but at the zoo they would only use Purina for dry food. After finding three highly rated foods on this site that I know to pose problems, I urge people to research sites other than this one. Make sure you find results that agree with each other on multiple sites. Your dog will thank you.

HBR

I can eat junk food, occasionally, and not have any problems what so ever, but I won’t make a habit of it.

redracer3368 .

All my dogs at one time or another have been fed Purina Dog food. Have never had any problems whatsoever from the brand.

Don

Very helpful.

isis297

Actually Don, the ingredients are listed in order PRE-COOKED. Go to the Facebook page for Rodney Habib – Pet Nutrition Blogger and watch his first video “Think You Know How to Read Pet Food Labels”.

Roid Rogers

The reason I buy Purina dry dog foods is because Purina was one of the only dog food companies that were not affected by the melamine scare of 2007. I switched from Iams pro health and my dogs seem to function better. I’ll stick with Purina

Roid Rogers

Maybe you did not ween them off the old food and onto the new food as it is always recommended? I started my 12 year old female on Purina One vibrant maturity by mixing 1 cup of new with one cup of old. After a week, I slowly switched over to 100% Purina One. She loves the food and after 1 month seems to have fewer arthritis problems. I am a fan of Purina products

Crazy4dogs

That’s not true in my case. I have 3 dogs here right now that get their food changed very often, even daily. I do feed very good brands and switch between canned, kibble, raw and cooked on a daily basis. They love everything I feed them and have no stomach upset whatsoever. The same is true for my foster dogs.

Rotation is a good thing that builds a healthy gut. If there is a formula change, there are generally no problems in a dog that is used to various foods, as opposed to a dog that has eaten the exact same food every day of his life

Pitlove

“Dogs …including mine NEVER like an instant complete change of diet”

I don’t agree at all with that. I have 2 dogs. Both of which I got and they could not handle rapid diet change at first. One because he was just a puppy, the other because he’d been eating Purina ONE for 4 of the 6 years of his life and nothing else. My puppy, who is now a full grown adult can eat a different kibble every meal and experience no GI upset at all and I’m in the process of strengthening my older dogs stomach to do that same thing right now with the use of a digestive supplement and probiotics. Same thing I did for the first dog.

Dogs who can NOT handle dietary change without tranisition have unhealthy guts and that IS the fault of the human. Feeding them one food for years shrinks the population of healthy bacteria in their gut which would allow them to easily digest a variety of foods one meal to the next.

Wellness and Taste of the Wild are not special foods. You can find Wellness at Petco and Taste of the Wild at Tractor Supply amoung other places. And the fact that shes feeding 2 completely different foods and her dogs can handle that shows that something about Purina did not agree with them. Does it mean Purina doesn’t work for other dogs? No. It means it did not work for her dogs.

Jessica Leanna Taft

but i did change their food after to natural balance and they love that

Jessica Leanna Taft

so both of my dogs (non related) both threw up for no reason? hmmm right..

Tonewall Jaxon

Dogs …including mine NEVER like an instant complete change of diet…….I have used there products for as long as i can remember with no ill effects…..someone who is going as far to BLEND a mix of ‘special’ dog foods for her pup might have to sensitive a composition for normal dog food.use…..and if it has such a ‘bad reputation’ why try it in the first place.

Tonewall Jaxon

my 12 year old border collie just looked up from his physics books after a dinner of Purina one and hot dogs , laffed and said …” tell Steve to shut the H8^l up.

Tonewall Jaxon

if they were my kids i’d feed them what i wanted and what they liked….

Crazy4dogs

All I can say is OMG!

Crazy4dogs

No Steve, don’t hold back. Tell us what you really think! I’m not a fan of Purina, but WOW!!! Is this type of language even allowed on DFA?????

Crazy4dogs

So if you’re kids only want McDonald’s, candy or Ramen noodles for their meals every day of their life, is that what you would feed them?

LabsRawesome

Hahahahaha 🙂

Pitlove

Care to explain further?

Tonewall Jaxon

Had a wolfhound that i tried many different foods on…he always liked old roy the best…….

Tonewall Jaxon

total bs…its the dog.

Tonewall Jaxon

12 year old border collie ….purina one since he was a pup….never been sick a day in his life …no overweight….loves the stuff ….have tried some ’boutique ‘ foods…he normally would leave half the bowl. sorry …he loves the stuff….hate the company if you must but works perfect for my dog

Steve Gordon

Expose Purina for the crap company they are. Look at what they make their food out of. They don’t care about animals, only profits.

AllAmerican45

I have fed my goldens Purina 1 for years. Use the Healthy Weight. Because my female has a weight problem. She is almost 14yrs old. She gobbles the dry food. It maybe rated a 2 but Amber would give it a 4 at least

Jessica Leanna Taft

I was hesitant to try this bzz agent product from purina… i tried the purina one grain free as my dogs are on 1/2 wellness 1/2 taste of the wild grain free…. at first they seemed to really like the taste… then a few hours later vomit… everywhere…. this is what i was afraid of… unfortunately purina dog food has a reputation of being a bad dog food and this is why… i have no intention of trying anymore purina products for the rest of my life and have no intention of recommending them to anyone… this is a honest review by a bzz agent who was given purina grain free smartblend to try…..

Ashley Harris

I received a free sample of Purina One from Smiley360 as well as a coupon for a free bag of Purina One dog food. Since switching my dog over to this food he has been more active and happy. He eats one cup in the morning and one cup at night and that is more than satisfying for him so I have a hard time believing that these “filler” comments are fully accurate. This dog food is great and as long as my fur baby is happy, so am I. I will definitely be sticking to this food.

mahoraner niall

i did the same on the dog chow website and i also reported that it almost killed my dog, and did they post it on their website? nope, because they’re afraid that if they post it on the website, just one truthful review, that the customers who sadly still feed their pet any purina product(s), the customers will turn their backs and realize all those colorful bits, “pretty” packaging, and “fun” commercials, are all a mask on what the product really is on the inside, aka: dead dogs, cats, slaughter house waste, cheap fillers, artificial colors, and more and more junk

sad to see such good dogs dying from such bad food,
ALSO for people who want a high quality food but not the price, currently im feeding diamond naturals, and it is a 40 pound bag for 50$ at my local pet store, and even cheaper on chewy.com, and a 15 pound of dog chow at my grocery store is 17$

so 35lbs of dog chow is 51 dollars
and 40lbs of diamond natural is 50 dollars
so higher quality for actually 1$ less (every bit counts!)

Anonymous

DO NOT FEED YOUR DOG THIS PORDUCT. Recently I was on Facebook and Purina One was claiming to use high quality ingredients. When I called them out on using cheap fillers like poultry by-product, Brewers rice, and corn. They deleted my comment for speaking the truth. If they can’t handle a little bad criticism about their low quality dog food, they can’t be trusted.

burghdog

First pic 6 months with gf. 2nd pic 6 months with purina 1

burghdog

Before P1. Had GF diet for about 6 months in this pic

burghdog

My dogs love Purina One. I have feed grain free. No corn no wheat no soy formulas. Two of three did fine. The third did ok. When I got her she had a small 3×3 patch of fur missing from her throat. The first year and a half she was with me it was gf or nc nw ns. They bald patch remained unchanged. Today after eating 6 months or so if P1 lamb and rice the patch has grown in with fur and is far less noticeable. Only about an inch left to go. I do mix in a 4 star rated wet food. But I always did that. They love it and I will stick with it. Perfect poops with all of them.

Gary Golas

Purina one Lamb and Rice would be ok then if a dog ate one cup a day with some meat and gravy mixed in? My dog has enjoyed it for awhile, he’s 14 now and very healthy. All way’s a empty bowl and a happy dog!

GSDsForever

First, this site does rate foods more highly that contain more meat and more of the total protein content derived from meat vs. plant matter. If you don’t agree with that criterion, then this site’s rankings will be less helpful to you.

But this IS a criterion that DFA has used across the board with ALL foods, those rated highly and those rated poorly.

Second, dog foods are all, here and in the industry, evaluated based on dry matter content. That means subtracting water.

Chicken, turkey, lamb, beef, other named meats are all inclusive of water unless dehydrated, which is usually specified. All ingredients in the ingredient list are water inclusive unless dried before being added to the formula. Ingredients are listed in order of weight, in the form they are added to the formula. Water inclusive meats weigh a lot, making them often easily appear high in the ingredient list.

But how foods are evaluated afterward is by dry matter. This is also how the industry compares wet food/can nutrient (protein, fat, etc) content to dry foods/kibbles.

So I think what you may be missing(?) is that highly rated foods here are likely only to appear there with “beef” or “chicken” or “turkey” (etc.) in the ingredients list when the other primary ingredients reflect high meat/animal protein content and most of the protein % in the guaranteed analysis is derived from meat/animal protein.

How can this be determined? The named meat (inclusive of water)

1)is followed by dehydrated/dried meats or named meat “meals” (or these appear high in the ingredient list) and/or

This is why you will see many otherwise preferred grain free foods heavily scrutinized for lentils or peas, even though companies often were placing these carbs in the formula instead of potatoes to be lower glycemic (and respond to consumer preferences). That in itself is evidence that Mike/DFA does evaluate these foods evenhandedly, using the same impartial criteria across the board — criteria which you are free to agree or disagree with, but which is applied to all formulas/brands.

Don

Ingredients are listed as per content in the package sold. So your comments, though true, don’t equal what’s really going on with the food ingredients.

And DogFoodie, if you make a negative comment here about the beef content according to your logic, on this product, you need to make the same negative comment to other brands which you obviously support.

This site has lost credibility with me.

DogFoodie

It’s not an attempt to discredit the product, Don. It’s a fact. Fresh meats are about 80% water, so while beef may be the first ingredient as listed by weight, once the water is removed, the beef actually makes up a much smaller percentage of the overall product.

It’s pretty simple science, really.

Don

My dog loves Purina One. I wonder why the author tries to discredit beef as the number one ingredient? , “80%water”and says that water is lost in production … Thus making beef Not the number one ingredient-or so the author says……

Right…. The author has something against the mainstream for companies, looking at all the posts… This food has large chunks of dried pure beef. It’s obviously the number one ingredient by just looking at what’s in the bowl!

“Mycotoxins are a group of toxins produced by mold found in grains, a major ingredient in Beneful. Mycotoxins pose a health risk to dogs and consumer complaints on Beneful report symptoms consistent with mycotoxin poisoning, according to the lawsuit. Cereghino said he and his team plan to collect further data and perform testing of the products for toxins.”

JLambro

I was feeding my 2 year old black lab Purina One Smartblend Lamb and Rice for several months. During this time she had three bouts (they lasted for a few days) of violent and frequent vomiting. One instance was so bad she needed hospitalization. I switched her over to a soft food diet for several days and changed her regular food. Since then, she is happy, healthy, and much more energetic. I can’t say this is true for all cases, but for my otherwise very healthy dog, Purina was a terrible excuse for pet food.

k_zinti

Purina One True Instinct Turkey & Venison does not appear to a better ingredient list than the Small Bites Beef and Rice based on the standards used to review here. Venison is ingredient #11 and likely included for bling-value only.

kelly

But it isn’t an across the board reaction. My three dogs have thrived on Purina 1.

kelly

Lurking seems appropriate.
I’m not a regular member, just an average Joe looking for information on a specific food. I take issue with people who declare another “wrong”. We all interpret differently.
I will say this: my dogs were fed an expensive, all natural food and had horrific gas. I switched to Purina 1 when a newly adopted dog was eating this food and seemed issue free. After gradually weening my other two dogs from the expensive brand and putting all on the Purina 1, none had had any issues.

MJfromGA

Jade, the senior dog here is often fed the Vibrant Maturity food. She is about 11 and is as healthy as an 11 year old, defective genetic runted GSD mix can be expected to be. The food is EGH, but I do not buy her food… another house member does, I only do the walking and care as this family member has arthritis and cannot properly walk the dog etc.

Walker Coonhound

Raised my puppy on Purina puppy chow. Switched her to Nutromax lamb and rice, she began vomitting bile every other day. Now back on Purina One Lamb and rice, no vomitting. Also supplement with multivitamins.

Cyndi

Make sure you do a gradual switch to the new food, and if you need to, use pure canned pumpkin to help with runny poop, and you can also add probiotics to help with transition. Some people on here also recommend NutriSource as a good, easy to transition to food. You could always rotate between the two, that’s better for your dog anyways. Good luck!

Becky S.

My dog ate Ol Roy Complete Nutrition for 5 years. I wanted to make a change because I saw this food was very low quality and wanted to see if my dog would do better on another food. Unfortunately I couldn’t access internet in the store to check the foods as I browsed, so I tried to use my best judgement… and ended up buying Purina Lamb & Rice by mistake. Well, at least it was slightly better than my dog’s current food I thought, and I’d do my research ahead of time next time when she finished the bag. My poor dog now has bald spots on her back side from biting at itchy skin she’s never had before in her life. She absolutely loved the food at first, and would drool over it, but now she’s not eating much either. I feel terrible for getting this food for my dog. I’m not sure what she’s allergic to but after just a couple days of noticing her biting and scratching I can’t take anymore, I will be going back to the store and getting 4health. Hopefully that will be better on her. If not then I guess it’s back to her old food. It might have given her smelly poops but at least it didn’t make her chew her skin to bits.

LabsRawesome

I agree with you a hundred percent. Over vaccinating, heartworm preventatives, and flea/tick meds, are making our sick. And shortening their lifespan.

Mandy

Our adult dogs now eat 4Health but I’ve looked at the Purina one. We got our first dog as a family 20+ years ago. We had NO idea about different foods then. She was a gorgeous husky mix and she was 7 weeks when we got her. She ate Ole Roy her entire life. She died a couple years ago, 5 months shy of her 18th birthday and besides going blind and deaf the last year or so, had no health problems. We tried some premium foods with our now 3 and 10 year old cattle dogs, One had vomiting and bloody diarrhea on one food, horrid gas on others and the other never had good stools on others we tried. They do good on the 4Health…great stools, look great…but our 8 month old puppy has had nothing but runny poop and disgusting gas on the 4Health puppy. All the money we’ve spent the last few years on dog food….I keep thinking about how we had no problem on cheap crappy walmart food for almost 18 years. I bought Purina One Puppy tonight to try and If she does good on it…we may stick with it.

theBCnut

I wrote such a nice reply, but the post was already removed, so I thought I would share with you.

The information you’re looking for is in the last section on every review under “A Final Word”.

Cyndi

The foods that are 5star, their ingredients alone make them 5 star foods, the companies don’t need to pay for a higher rating. If that was the case, don’t you think multi-million dollar Purina would pay for higher than a 1 star crappy food?

Bunny Lee Ryan

Wonder if the reviewer is being paid by those receiving 5 stars. js

yorgo

I likse corn bet you like da cob don ya? you do…you know you do.

yorgo

sure he do shawana do you believe otherwise…you a fool.

yorgo

dats cuase dey are made by da man and these goobers don like da man.

yorgo

no kidding, the drug cos just want to pump them full of crap jsut like they do humans and the humans allow it. take a look how heartwortm is conveyed…there is no point to heart worm meds in cold climates year round and yet the vets push like drug dealers..

andrew

if you don’t feed raw then your a jerk and any argument is just trying to justify buying cheaper food to yourself x) lol and who loses ,YOUR pet !! haha

aimee

The statement “”better than anticipated” means just that. Some protein combinations may be anticipated to be be poor but were fair, some may be anticipated to be good but were excellent. I didn’t say it meant good I said “can”

If you hold bias against plant proteins then you may not be able to see that combining plant based proteins can yield an AA profile that may even exceed an animal based source.

You are invoking a “straw man’s argument”, as I never said that corn is a “superior protein” or “best source” I simply acknowledge that corn is a source of AA which can contribute to an overall excellent AA profile to meet an animals needs. It is not my opinion it is fact.

Toki

Sorry, I’ve been lurking for a long time and have seen a lot of aimee’s posts and felt I needed to speak up.

aimee

I didn’t say it was though did I :).. I was saying I understand the effect of low fiber diets on cattle, and feed formulation. Most of the work I did was in dairy rations.

Toki

I think we’re all aware of the FAO and have read many a report from them. I believe the comment was in regards to your interpretation of the phrase “better than anticipated”, which can be taken in a number of ways depending on the context. I realize that you enjoy playing devil’s advocate, but I believe you are understimating the intelligence of the regulars on this site. I’m sorry, but you can’t expect everyone to believe that “better than anticipated” means good. “Bad” is better than “terrible”, and if I anticipate my dog dropping dead from feeding him Beneful and he doesn’t, that’s a better result than I originally anticipated. Fancy language and vague expressions are not a substitution for the facts, and the fact is that corn is not the best source of protein for dogs and cats. I could list a number of sources, but you can read any article on this site (or talk to many of the regulars) and get the same proof.
It is nice that you play devil’s advocate, because it leads us all to search for credible information to PROVE that corn is inferior in dog and cat nutrition but at some point you should review everything and realize that your opinion is wrong–and has been proven as such. 🙂
Why would I use an inferior protein in my rotation instead of just using a different superior protein?

JellyCat

Feeding of a livestock is not equal to feeding companion animal. Simply because feeding of a livestock is very much geared towards productivity, but not long term health and most definitely not longevity.

aimee

No misinterpretation on my part. I understand perfectly well what was meant. This is probably because I have logged multiple hours of university credit in the feeding and productivity of livestock.

aimee

Well that is the just the dry language of the F.A.O. : )

aimee

Hi Rabbinator, The F.A.O. is the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

If you are interested in credible and reliable nutritional information it is an awesome site!!

Shawna

In my opinion you misinterpreted the quote in an attempt to make it sound favorable. Just my opinion though.

Edit: I won’t say I’m above misinterpreting data either though. I suppose that is human ..

Shawna

If something were excellent or superb I’d want to use more than such an insignificant term as as better than anticipated but I suppose that could just be my thinking.?

Rabbinator

It can also be equated to “it didn’t kill my dog right away” or “my dog didn’t spew blood from its stomach”. If I anticipate it will kill my dog and it doesn’t, that’s better than anticipated.

aimee

I simply quoted from your source. I’d think feed efficiency, days to market etc might be how “productivity” is measured.

Not sure what you mean by “I support feeding corn” As I’ve said before I’m neutral on the issue.

aimee

This is true… “better than anticipated can equate to excellent or superb!

Shawna

“Better than anticipated” doesn’t equate to good necessarily..

aimee

I interpreted his statement as meaning comparing a N.A. of each diet. Apparently I understood correctly as he clarified when he said “No not by itself but taken as whole”

I think we all know that the BV of corn protein is less than animal based protein. However, “Determination of BV of a single protein is of limited use… Mixtures of protein foods frequently promote better growth than anticipated from the performance of individual components of the mixture.”
F.A.O.

Shawna

You are surely welcome to your opinion aimee, but I will NEVER agree with it. Ingredients DO matter…

Shawna

Feeding cattle corn has less to do with “productivity” and more to do with making them fat quicker bringing a higher price at auction and requiring less time/feed on the farm for the farmer.

And as the cost of corn has increased, farmers are looking to alternate forms of feed for that “energy” such as m&ms and potato chips.. Same link as quote below.

“Grass-fed cattle make up only 10% of the beef market, according to the
report. The farmers have to charge 30% more for the beef because its
more costly to raise the cattle, and they can’t pack as many cattle onto
the property because of resource limitations when cattle just roam and
graze. Americans are used to the high-fat taste of corn-fed beef, which is another concern for grass-fed cattle farmers when they take their beef to market.” http://www.treehugger.com/green-food/cows-like-mms-too.html

It’s perfectly fine that you support feeding corn aimee. But at least call it what it is… It’s more about money and less about the health of the animal eating the food..

Ross C.

No not by itself but taken as whole, the foods analyzed chemically could not be differentiated. I would also go out on a limb and tell you that Pro Plan is much more digestible than Orijen. I have fed both and you see it in the amount fed and the amount of fecal matter. Please don’t pick one ingredient because corn gluten is not the only protein in Pro Plan and whether it is second or fifth doesn’t tell you much because you don’t have the weights of all the ingredients. It is clear that Orijen uses more animal protein than Pro Plan, not as much as you think, but it is not clear to me the protein is as digestible or as well balanced.